Hi everyone,
This time we have a guest blog from Jennifer Skaggs on how yoga can help people fight through and overcome addiction. Jennifer’s yoga practice found her in 2005. After living a life full of anxiety and depression, her soul was aching for a shift. It didn't take long before being upside down on her mat was a normal part of Jennifer’s day! She realized what a positive impact her yoga practice was having on her, so teaching seemed like the next natural step. After attending her first of many trainings, Jennifer began teaching right away and hasn’t looked back. Jennifer has learned yoga isn’t meant to become WHO we are, rather just a vessel to living more present, raise our level of awareness, and of course find those tight abs!
Jennifer is currently a Lululemon Ambassador and has had the opportunity to practice with master teachers such as Shiva Rea, Seane Corn, Vinnie Marino, and Larry Lane, just to name a few!
Jennifer will be teaching a workshop at Inner Peace Yoga on Feb. 19th from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. called "Moving Mindfully into 2012". You can register for that event at innerpeaceyogatulsa.com
Now from Jennifer:
Addiction.
Addiction runs deep in my family. I know it does for many. I have gone in and out of debating with myself about sharing some stories. In the end, there are two reasons I chose to share. One being that some have shared with me over the past year or so that I seem so peaceful and that life must be a breeze for me. (It is, by choice of perception!) The other reason was a conversation I had with a dear friend just before the holidays that led me to sitting here with my computer today. I shared with her, that it is my opinion that we are here to share. Share everything, our love, FEARS, our goals, visions, our tears of joy and sorrow, laughter and our TRUTH.
"Each soul is doing the best they can with the level of awareness they have." Once we can fully understand this, we can see that everyone is just walking out their karma and there is no need to judge or expect anything from anyone. One thing I feel we can do is communicate what we need in OUR space. We can communicate this with NO expectation of the outcome and know by speaking what WE truly need may result in big change or the end of a relationship. Being compassionate starts with ourselves. Are you willing to disappoint another to protect your own TRUTH?
It has taken me eight years to fully learn how to process this part of my life. Actually 30 years as I grew up around strong addictions as well. (as each generation before me) It is the difference between knowing and KNOWING. It is the difference between playing the victim or being the seeker of TRUTH. I choose to shift the generational pattern of addiction.
We ALL have our attachments and addictions. I am attached to feeling good, yoga, eating healthy, awareness, releasing fears, and well I could go on and on. It literally makes me nervous when I cannot do these things. Definitely a learned behavior. My runner friends get stressed and hit the road for a long run, some meditate for hours. Some pop pills or pour too many drinks, some hold it all in, and others don't eat or over eat. We become addicted to what we do, whether it is healthy or not. Habits become character.
I can say that the last year of my life has brought many lessons, some I am still sitting with as my worldly self tries to understand and my inner being sinks deeper into the detachment of the outcome. KNOWING that I could never possibly understand the bigger picture, I am not a puppet master, I cannot wave my Jenny wand and "fix" this. It is not mine to fix, yet mine to LOVE.
I took a hard look in the eyes of addiction at the end of 2011 as I sat across from my own blood in her therapy session at rehab. After her eight year prescription pill addiction, she overdosed in front of her beautiful children. Her soul is so attached to her addiction she is still not willing to own up to her choices. Who am I or who are we to decide what is good for someone else? I don’t know the outcome of her karmic journey or what lessons her soul is aching for. This is such a hard one to fully wrap our worldly minds around. The inner most root of my being understands that there is truly nothing I can do for another in which they will not do for themselves.
We have found the system (DHS) doesn't always work. So what can we do? Physically...not much. The power of intention is our strongest ability. The love I can offer from a distance serves more power to each of us and the world we live in, then the friction that builds when our energies collide. I will continue this practice until LOVE for her is all that remains.
I am forever grateful to have had this soul in my life. I will keep the door open for change, my HEART open for LOVE, but I will also protect my own TRUTH. She has been one of my greatest teachers. I have chosen this perception. I have chosen to NOT play the victim or to use my past as an excuse for an unhealthy lifestyle. I have chosen to learn, to grow, to evolve. To know the light we must recognize the dark. Recognize, not judge.
I can thank Yoga for this level of awareness. I too have swam in the same delusions that hold those I love in their addictions. So many people think Yoga is a practice of the body, an exercise, or holds the requirement of touching your toes! Although all these things are a plus, Yoga is of the mind and breath, the body is lucky enough to play along! Yoga simply means to yolk, join, or unite the body, mind, and soul. It’s about an overall personal balance. Achieving the Yin and Yang that is right for YOU. Yoga broke down my walls. Created space for new thought processes, helped decondition my old patterns, communications, and relationships that were no longer serving me. Be open and ready for what the universe has to offer you. Let your walls down by stepping onto your mat, taking a deep breath, and a good look INSIDE yourself. The place where ALL peace and self-preservation dwells.
Check out my website at www.livepresentyoga.com if you want to read more of my mind chatter! There you will find my teaching schedule as well as yoga events and workshops I am currently planning. I will be teaching a workshop at Inner Peace Yoga on Feb. 19th from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. called "Moving Mindfully into 2012". You can register for that event at www.innerpeaceyogatulsa.com
Namaste
Jennifer Skaggs
"Changing lives, one breath at a time."
